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Thursday

Security guards, guns, and human road blocks.

Our Donsol Resort Hotel

The hotel guard had a shotgun and dark pants tucked into
his socks. He looked serious but it didn’t seem like a dangerous place. It was hard to tell since
we had arrived at almost 2am in the morning. Driving to Donsol in the
Philippines in a rental car had proved quite a challenge.

Phil had driven the whole way slowly and carefully. By the
time it got dark, the traffic had thinned out but he still had to negotiate the
odd pedestrian, dog, or slowly moving roadblock that turned out to be an unlit
motorbike with a sidecar. Then we came across road works.

Not road works lit up with mobile street lights, two trucks
with ten foot high neon signs, and a well lit up police car like we were used
to in Australia, but a long dark hole taking up half of the road and bordered
by a row of small rocks.

My husband drove carefully through the narrow space left on
the road, praying no one would come the other way and almost ran into small
children with torches and large begging cups with long handles.

Roadworks are tricky enough to negotiate in the light of day

We inched past with our windows up, trying to ignore them,
unwilling to encourage them to approach cars.

The third time we drove through a town with road works and more
children, we wondered if they were road works or road blocks.

Then a man started
running our way shouting passionately. We kept moving and spent the next ten
minutes reassuring each other that he was not a police man. I could see us
hunted down and locked up for the rest of our holiday if we were wrong. We had
only been in the Philippines for a few days and had no idea what the rules
were.

The trip had taken us much longer than expected. It was
about eleven o’clock at night and we estimated that we still had about three
hours to go. We considered stopping somewhere for the night, but we had no idea
where. There were no obvious hotels and after being accosted by families in the
villages, we had no idea if it was safe to even stop.

I called the hotel we had booked and they assured us they
would have a security guard waiting for us. We decided to keep driving.

Two long hours later, as we drove into a small Filipino
town, Phil felt a sudden loss of traction in the rental car. He pulled over
under a single street light next to a small hall and got out to find we had a
flat tyre.

He to get the spare tyre from the boot, while I got out and
stared nervously around.

Just then, a large group of young people came out of the
hall and began to walk towards us. I moved closer to Phil, but they all got
into nearby cars and left. It looks like they had just finished a meeting as we
arrived, so I relaxed.

Phil began the process of jacking up the car and I looked up
to see two men on a motorbike drive past pointing and waving. The motorbike did
a u-turn and pulled up next to the car.

The older of the two men was clearly drunk, but he insisted
on trying to help as Phil struggled to work the cheap and badly designed jack
which skittered and dropped the car several times. The older man continually
offered useless suggestions and offered do it for us.

I stood aside holding the tyre iron firmly and trying to
look tough as I kept an eye on the younger man who was checking the other side
of the car. He looked to me as if he was planning to open the door and run off
with anything worth having.

Phil knew all along what was going on, but it only clicked
for me then that the men had stopped to try to get something out of us.

We left as quickly as we could get away without being rude, and
we left them empty-handed. They contributed nothing but distraction to the job,
and we felt safer with our wallets tucked away in the car.

Another hour later, we rounded a tight uphill corner and
came across three people asleep in our lane. Phil braked and changed lanes quickly
as they didn’t seem inclined to move. It was the day of the dead and many
people were sleeping at the cemetery but these guys were close to sleeping in
one for good.

Our Hotel at Sunset

At last we arrived in Donsol, our destination, but I
couldn’t find the hotel which looked so easy to find on the google map. It was
almost two in the morning but we spotted a couple of young women out walking
with a baby (yes, a baby at 2am) and asked them for help.

Ten minutes later, we pulled up to the gate and were met by
the security guard with a rifle hanging from his belt. We fell out of the car
exhausted and followed him through the dark compound to our room, wondering
what was so dangerous that he needed a gun in a small town tourist resort.

The room was damp as if it had not been used for months, but
I was impressed to see the welcoming sight of towels made into a swan on the
bed. Then a large cockroach scuttled across the wall startled by the light. After
a bit of cockroach bashing, we stumbled into a cool shower and a warm bed, and
finally fell asleep, looking forward to a few days of swimming on the shores of
an uninhabited island and floating down a river under dark trees festooned with
fireflies.

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About the Author

Reviews for Housesitting in Australia

“Nikki has written not only an inspiring book about how to transform your life, but also a practical and information rich guide to house sitting. This is a must read for anyone searching for a bit of adventure in their lives and who would like to try house sitting as a way to travel on a budget!”
Kylie Fuad
Directorhttp://www.aussiehousesitters.com.au/

This is a fun book with an original voice premise and an engaging writing style that will be attractive to travel fans.Self-Publishing Service Reviewer

Nikki Ah Wong gets it! Her book demonstrates, once again, that living life on our own terms is the best way to find the satisfaction that we all seek. House sitting is one way to support a dream.
Whatever your dream might be, when people like Nikki tell their personal stories of triumph, it empowers us all.
Teresa Roberts - Finding the Gypsy in Me - Tales of an International House Sitter
http://www.findingthegypsyinme.com/

I love the idea of house sitting in other countries. I didn't realize you could do such a thing. I loved the descriptions you shared about all of the wonderful things you saw...
Internet Reviewer

An entertaining writer. I really like the way you've structured the chapters - from personal to practical and back again.